Napalm at Bastogne ?

I've shifted this from 'Quiz Part V' where it was threatening to hi-jack the thread....

Charles B MacDonald in his well-respected book ' A Time For Trumpets ' records in some detail the US 9th Air Force atacking German assembly areas to the North and Northwest of Bastogne on 23rd December 1944 and subsequent days with Napalm.

Hugh M Cole in the US Official History of the battle states :
' During the day ( 23 December ) eighty-two P-47s lashed out at the enemy with general-purpose and fragmentation bombs, napalm and machine-gun fire' ( p.470 ). Danny Parker, in ' To Win The Winter Sky ' , refers to the attack on the 23rd with Thunderbolts of the 513th Sqn, Mourmelon with 'Bombs, napalm and 'frags' lashed under their wings' and 'napalm setting the trees ( near Bastogne) on fire and setting the Germans running' ( pp226, 229 ).

Anyone else have any references to the use oF Napalm in the Ardennes ?

 

I think I've discovered the original source - S L A Marshall's seminal book, ' Bastogne - The First Eight Days ' . In it, he records the extensive use of 'firebombs' on wooded areas and also villages such as Noville during 23rd December. His source for this information is a personal interview with Captain James E. Parker of the 9th USAAF.
Parker was in Bastogne from 19th December onwards and used a H/F radio set to direct the attacks as soon as the weather cleared.

 

Ok I am going to retrace my vet interviews from the 405th and 362nd FG. As these boyz were on the 23rd and through months end dumping loads of crap on the Germans......

~E

 

Hmmmmmm, nothing from the 405th fg except .50's and 250lbers.

ooooooooops i stand correctd this is for the 21st of December , 362nd all three squads flew an escort for RAF bombers attacking Trier. dropped 500lb Naphalms and incendiaries throu overcast in the area of Trier with unobserved results.

23rd December 44 10 missions flown totalling 107 sortes in support of XIIcorps and III and in escort of C-47's, destroyed 84 MT and 12 armored vehicles, 12 gun postions and 5 buildings, 2 raod bridges, the 379th alone destroyed MT with troops- 45/48 vehicles between St. Hubert and Recogne, also hit a tank convoy damaging 10 and destroying some 28 MT.

Intersting the combat diary of the 362nd that Luftwaffe Night fighters were bombing and strafing anything that moved at their airfield for the month of December. the 362nd of course responded with murderous quad .50 fire......

all typos are mine.......dang CT

E

 

Yes, napalm was used there and before that as well as after. It was tried for example on the Metz forts by aircraft supporting 3rd Army (unsuccessfully but still tried).
The only real shift in tactics was that 8th Air Force and Bomber Command shifted many of their attacks to operational targets close behind the front to isolate the German forces in the Bulge. They did this by oblitherating most of the rail yards in the immediate German rear along with bombing out a good number of bridges. It should be noted that Bomber Command made many of their raids in daytime too.
Another 'first' was deliberately attacking German airfields following Bodenplatte. 8th AF made a concerted effort to put many of the larger German airfields out of commission using heavy bombers while the escorting fighters strafed the fields and went looking for targets of opportunity over much of Germany.

 

The connotations of 'Napalm' are interesting, probably has something to do with the famous photo of the Vietnamese girl...

I well remember during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, several 'respectable' newspapers in this country portentously announced that 'napalm had been used for the first time in Continental Europe'.

Which shows the depth of their knowledge....

 

right o guys. Interesting too that on 15 January 1945 nearly all Reichs defence units were ordered to prepare for the Defence of Berlin. JG 300 and 301 along with portions of JG 27 and JG 53 tried to withstand the Allied armada......of course the activity of JG 7 Me 262's were prone to attention and the Allied heavies did their best to disrupt their taking off/landing patterns. The idea of catching landing Me 262 by US P-51's brought promise, but sorry I am advancing the thread....

~E

 

Never thought of napalm being used in Europe, actually. Thanx for the info, Martin!

Found in the net this:

On July 24th, the German LXXXIV Corps to the west of the Normandy beach-head experienced Allied air power at its most formidable, as 4,000 tons of bombs were dropped on its positions. Next morning, 2,410 aircraft poured more than 4,000 more tons of high explosive and napalm on to the German positions along the River Vire, opposite the US VII Corps - although some of that explosive was dropped on the Allied positions by mistake, and killed 111 men including a Lieutenant-General. The carnage on the German side was horrifying; all along the front up to half the men and much of the equipment of the defending units were put out of action. As a "softening-up" exercise, the attacks were both successful and thorough. On July 26th, General Collins was able to break through the German line, and advance to Marigny and Saint Gilles.

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Cabin/7226/FranceLiberated.html

Did this happen according to any other sources (??) and what was the first time napalm was used in Europe? I bet the Germans were quite surprised by the effect!! Did the Germans in anywhere make news of the napalm, for instance report to Hitler himself?